VB.NET requires a call to a special subroutine with the special name New before the program can use an instance of any dynamic object. "Static" - that is, "Shared" - objects are different. Because the New subroutine is "special", it doesn't follow all of the rules that other methods have to follow. A new Quick Tip shows just exactly how it is "special".

The New Constructor and Inheritance

You've seen Me and MyBase. Have you seen MyClass?

If you haven't had exactly the right requirement in one of your programs, you might not even be aware that the MyClass keyword exists. Most people need to use the much more common Me and MyBase keywords every now and then, but MyClass covers a fairly specialized and unique requirement. This Quick Tip explains what it is.

MyClass

... can be a problem. Make sure you know what you're doing.

In the recent article, Shadows in VB.NET, I write that "Shadows forces a specific element to be used even if an identically named element exists." But this behavior can be a problem. To use Overrides, the base element has to specifically authorize it with the Overrideable keyword. Shadows has no such restriction. That means that if a procedure is inheritable (Many aren't.) you can accomplish about the same thing with Shadows that you can with Overrides. A new Quick Tip shows how to do it. (And recommends against it.)

 Using Shadows Can Introduce Bugs

An article is breaking right now about a Russsian claim, now confirmed by Iran, that a virus has been stealing data. The claim is supported by the global security firm, Kaspersky Labs, which also just happens to be a Russian company.

This is all very interesting, but where's the Visual Basic connection? (I hear you asking.)

Just this ... According to the New York Times (Iran Confirms Attack by New Data Virus), Kaspersky Labs has supported their claim with some screen shots of code they wrote to detect the virus ... and it seems to me to be written in VB.NET!! (See the illustration.)

VB sometimes gets flak from supercilious C programmers as being just so yesterday. Evidently, Kaspersky Labs doesn't think so.